Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Nova Scotia (ICONS): 1997-2002

• ICONS was a five year province-wide health management initiative designed to improve the care and outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
• As a Steering, Interventions and Executive Committee member, Joanna supported 10 regional teams in the development of strategies and tools designed to meet project objectives including leading intervention development and implementation (e.g., Mainpro®-C accredited workshops, disease care-maps, hospital discharge summary forms, adherence interventions and patient education events).
• Joanna co-authored various peer-reviewed project publications and presentations. She supported internal and external project communications both nationally and internationally.
• Overall project results: Improved practice patterns and health outcomes. ICONS transitioned in 2002 from a research project to Cardiovascular Health Nova Scotia.

Enhancing Practice to Improve Care (EPIC) : 2005 - 2006

• EPIC was a regional health management initiative designed to support British Columbia primary care practitioners and their staff in the implementation of practice management strategies (patient registries and recall systems) in order to enhance the care of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).
• As a member of the Project Executive Committee, Joanna led various aspects of the project including: agreement negotiation, building stakeholder partnerships, protocol development, ethics submission, Mainpro® accreditation, data analysis planning, feedback of practice patterns and abstract / poster preparation / presentation and publication.
• Overall results: EPIC resulted in enhanced uptake of patient registries, recall systems and CKD practice patterns by participating practices; EPIC patients reported significantly fewer six-month hospitalization rates.

ExpertMD™ Osteoporosis / CV Diabetes : 2005 - 2008

• ExpertMD™ Osteoporosis and CV Diabetes were educational initiatives designed to support Canadian family physicians in the management of patients with osteoporosis and diabetes.
• Joanna acted as project lead for the evaluation component of each program. She co-developed the protocols and data collection tools, led ethics submissions, acted as liaison with clinical and academic leaders, led data analysis planning, feedback of practice patterns and abstract / poster preparation / presentation.
• Overall results: Both projects led to improved practice patterns and knowledge transfer.